


Let’s Exchange the Experience

by rafaelbaseball



Category: Grey's Anatomy
Genre: Developing Relationship, Healing, Hurt/Comfort, Injury Recovery, M/M, Protective Nico, hurt Levi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-21
Updated: 2019-01-21
Packaged: 2019-10-13 15:37:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17490653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rafaelbaseball/pseuds/rafaelbaseball
Summary: Maybe if he hadn’t been whistling, literally freakin’ whistling, down the street on his way to Joe’s to meet his— whatever Nico is for a drink, Levi wouldn’t have found himself in this position and in this much pain.





	Let’s Exchange the Experience

Things like this aren’t supposed to happen. Not anymore. 

When he’d been younger, Levi had been pushed around, mocked, bullied; but here, now, like this? No. Life has been good, genuinely good, for the first time in a hell of a long time. He’s supposed to be safe. Maybe believing that had been his first mistake. Maybe if he hadn’t been whistling, literally freakin’ whistling, down the street on his way to Joe’s to meet his— whatever Nico is for a drink, Levi wouldn’t have found himself in this position and in this much pain. 

He doesn’t know whether it’s been five minutes or five hours since he’d been practically tackled into this alley. As Levi blinks slowly through blurred vision, he does his best to assess himself, god, what’s the word? Triage. His bottom lip trembles as his breath hitches and he squeezes his eyes shut for a moment as he goes through his self-assessment. 

The back of his head is killing him. He’d hit it against the brick wall of the alley when his attacker had shoved him into it, he remembers that. The blurred vision is a little worrisome but then again, his glasses are hanging around his neck because a fist to the face had knocked them right off. He can feel the blood dripping from his nose down the side of his neck, it’s uncomfortable, he hates it. There’s probably blood pooling from his head, too, and Levi is just thankful he doesn’t have to look at it on top of everything else. 

Besides, he’s pretty sure he’s got at least one broken finger because the attacker had stomped down on his hand and then his ribs with a heavy boot before taking off with his wallet, so Levi supposes that kind of trumps the rest of his injuries. He can deal with a black eye, even a minor concussion. 

But he needs his hand. He needs out of this alley and into the hospital that’s mere minutes away and the sick irony of it all is he can’t make it there on his own. Nico’s across the street, Taryn’s still working her shift, and Levi is lying next to a dumpster in an alley feeling more pathetic and sorry for himself than he ever has in his life—which, he’d like to add, is really saying something.

His phone rings then but it’s salt in the wound, it’s too far away for Levi to grab it. Even the slightest attempt to move is met with a wave of nausea and he really doesn’t want to risk choking on his own puke so he lets out a slow exhale as he squints at the lit up screen. He half-heartedly reaches for the phone, futile as the effort may be, when he sees Nico’s name followed by a couple obnoxious heart emojis flashing at him. 

It’s a good sign. He wheezes a laugh because earlier today, he’d taken Link’s warm smile as a good sign, a sign of approval, and now the fact Nico must be worried he hasn’t shown up yet has become the greatest thing that’s happened all day. Oh, how far the mighty fall. 

_Please look for me. Please know me well enough by now I wouldn’t just bail, not on you._

Nico Kim, in fact, is the only person Levi has always shown up for in spite of his crippling self-doubt and often cruel certainty that this is a relationship that can’t possibility end well. Nico is… well, Nico, and it’s not about experience anymore, it’s about a willingness to believe good things can stay good. 

Maybe, Levi thinks, this is the world’s way of telling him to shut up and stop freaking out about it. He can worry all he wants about not being good enough for Nico but at the end of the day, he can also end up broken and bloody a block away from where they’re supposed to meet and isn’t that just a kick in the ass?

It’s almost eerie, now that he thinks about it, how quiet it is on this corner of the street. Levi has never taken the time to monitor the foot traffic around here, there’s never been a reason to, but he makes a firm decision to never walk down this path alone again. Never mind the fact he’s done it many times before and it doesn’t help him much now, this isn’t going to happen again. He wouldn’t be able to handle it. 

The scrape of shoes against concrete sounds from just around the corner of the alley, Levi can hear it, and his chest seizes with fear, sending a jolt of pain through his ribs. He clutches at his stomach, a low groan dragging itself out of his dry throat as his eyes start to sting with tears. 

The footsteps hesitate then come to a stop. Levi is torn between hope and terror as he hears the footsteps enter the alley. 

“Hello? Is someone in here, do you need help?”

That voice. Levi has to laugh, even though it hurts. He knows that voice. 

“Nico.” His voice sounds small, smaller than he’s ever heard it himself. 

“Shit. _Shit_ , Levi.” 

Before Levi can even process it, Nico’s on his knees, hands hovering over Levi’s body. 

“What happened? Who was it?”

“Don’t know,” Levi says. “Took my wallet then ran. Promise I didn’t ditch you.”

Nico huffs an exasperated laugh. “Not really the issue right now.”

This isn’t a good look, Levi thinks to himself with sudden desperation. He isn’t handling any of this quite as well as he’d like. His breath hitches as he tries to push himself up from the ground, his elbows trembling, but he doesn’t get very far and nearly collapses back to the ground before Nico catches him. 

“Hey, no, don’t move, you’ve got a head injury. Hold on one minute, I’m right here, I’m going to make a call.”

Levi doesn’t bother to answer and Nico doesn’t wait. It’s going to be okay now, Levi is pretty confident about that, Nico had come for him. Maybe he’d even been heading back to the hospital to look for him, wouldn’t that be something? It’s a strange thing, being part of something in development the way they are. They’ve been on dates without calling them dates but Nico has been transparent, he’s openly admitted he’s not seeing anyone else. Even so, neither of them have taken that plunge to confirm they’re exclusive, and Levi wonders whether Nico is just letting him take the reins on that one. Maybe he should take initiative, maybe he should do that _right n_ —

“ _Ow_.”

His head, it might be the actual death of him. 

Nico rushes back to him, tucking his phone back in his pocket. “It’s okay, you’re going to be okay. Link’s coming with a stretcher, he’ll be here soon. You know where you are?”

It’s a test, Levi knows, he needs to pass it. “Block from Joe’s,” he says slowly. Yeah, that sounds right. “Was going to meet you.”

“I kept your seat warm and everything,” Nico says, offering a tight smile as he starts to look over the rest of Levi’s body. “What else hurts?”

“Finger.” Levi holds up his trembling left hand, grimacing at the blurry sight of his ring— oh, ring _and_ pinky fingers, that’s great, they’re bent at unnatural angles and Levi thinks it’s very possible he’ll vomit any second. Or maybe that’s the concussion talking, who knows?

Nico gently takes Levi’s injured hand, looking like he’s just swallowed something horrible, but forces an unconvincing smile. “I’ll fix that right up, don’t worry. Your hand is going to be fine, I promise.”

“Not supposed to make promises like that.”

“I can because it’s true. You know what else is true? I’m not leaving you so stop worrying about that.”

Levi’s brow furrows. It’s reassurance he’d needed but he doesn’t know how Nico—

“I can see it in your eyes,” Nico says. “It’s okay to be scared, I’m right here with you.”

Silence falls between them for a moment, possibly even two, Levi can’t be sure of the passage of time anymore. He doesn’t think he’s ever let things go this long between them without saying anything, he’s even broken kisses to make a nervous comment or babble because somehow that seems less awkward when in fact, it’s more. He’s decided it’s his way of giving Nico an out, to stop the kiss entirely if that’s what he wants, and even now, Levi doesn’t understand why Nico never just walks away. He’d tried asking once. 

“Why do you…”

He’d trailed off. Nico has studied him carefully, waiting for the rest of the question while threading long fingers through Levi’s hair. They’d been lying in bed in the on call room together, nose to nose with their legs tangled. Levi hadn’t been able to recall ever once feeling so comfortable with anyone. 

“Why do I what?”

Levi had shaken his head. He’d wanted to know but at the same time, wasn’t sure he’d like the answer. He’d let it go by pressing another kiss to Nico’s lips. 

Now, Nico’s fingers are in his hair again, this time gingerly trying to check what he can see of the wound spilling blood from Levi’s head. It hurts. Levi’s eyes shut tightly and he groans. 

“Is it bad?” he asks. Nico’s hand stills. “It feels like it might be bad.”

“We’ll get you a CT and see how it looks, babe, but nothing’s flashing major warning signs yet.”

Babe? 

Levi doesn’t get a chance to ask about that before he hears a new voice shouting from the head of the alley.

“Nico?”

Nico’s gentle touch disappears, Levi misses it, but he supposes there are more important matters at hand. 

“He’s slurring his words,” Nico says, getting to his feet, wasting absolutely no time in giving Link the rundown. It’s strange for Levi to hear it broken down so neatly, like he’s just listening to a list of symptoms for another patient and not himself. “Head’s bleeding, you see the break in his nose.” Nico pauses, taking a shaky breath. “Two fingers broken.”

“Ribs,” Levi croaks, just barely managing to lift his head. “Ribs, too.”

“Ribs,” Nico echoes. 

Levi watches him exchange a glance with Link but then the pair are leaning over him, murmuring gentle words of comfort that go in one ear and out the other. Then, Levi only feels a burst of unbearable pain as he’s hoisted onto the stretcher and he cries out, his good hand scrambling to reach for something, anything to hold. It catches Nico’s hand, the reassuring squeeze is exactly what Levi needs, and the embarrassment he feels over the tears streaming down his cheeks is only fleeting because once Nico presses a kiss to his forehead, the pain stops, if only just for a few seconds. 

“You good?” Link asks. Levi almost answers but Nico beats him to it. 

“I’m fine,” Nico says, straightening back up, though he doesn’t let go of Levi’s hand. “Yeah, I’m fine, let’s get him back.”

Levi almost lets his eyes fall shut twice while being wheeled back to the hospital. He isn’t sure whether it’s Link or Nico who gently slaps him back to horrid consciousness, but he recognizes Nico’s voice urgently calling his name both times, ordering him to stay with them, stay awake. 

He blinks. The darkness is inviting. The last thing Levi hears before he lets himself drift away is another panicked shout of his name and the distant echo of his own voice. 

“I’m sorry, Nico.”


End file.
